Greg Bird, a player for the Australian rugby league international, was cleared of charges for assaulting his girlfriend last Wednesday and can now continue playing for the team. The last time Bird played was last season. He was fired by Australian National Rugby League club Cronulla in January this year.

According to reports, Bird’s American girlfriend Katie Milligan incurred broken eye socket and eye cuts after an alleged fight that took place in August 2008. Bird was sentenced to eight months in jail with a maximum term of 16 months.

However, evidence surfaced that Milligan’s drug use caused the fight. Milligan allegedly attempted to attack Bird with a water glass and the rugby player was just attempting to defend himself.

The glass reportedly broke but it remained unclear why it did and why it ended up bruising Milligan.

Early rugby boots were something on the lines of ankle boots today. These boots provided a certain degree of comfort and also protected the player against receiving hard knocks. Nowadays rugby boots are quite similar to soccer cleats. They are low cut and quite streamlined so as to fit the foot perfectly and for more comfort. Most players wear studs on their boots and the number of studs on a player’s boot depends on his position and also his own personal comfort. It is recommended that backs wear studs on their boots as this facilitates easier changing of direction and also provides better grip and gives a bit of help when kicking the ball. Studs are found in two patterns the eight pattern and the six pattern. This is the number of studs worn on the boot.